What Has been accomplished with our Ugandan partners…
Child Subsidy Program
In Uganda, 1 out of 14 kids will die before reaching the age of 5 (compared to 1 out of 135 in the U.S).
· Asteroidea subsidizes 30% of all medical costs for every child under the age of 7. Additionally, no child will pay more than 10,000 Ugandan shillings at any given visit, the equivalent of $4 USD.
· With an average of 3,000 kids receiving care annually at NUMEM clinic, Asteroidea has helped to subsidize the care of nearly 10,000 children as of October 2018.
Prenatal Care Program
A woman’s chances of dying from a pregnancy related complication or during childbirth in Uganda are 1 in 49 (compared to 1 in 2,400 in the U.S.).
· As of February 2018, Asteroidea is covering 50% of the antenatal care that NUMEM provides to pregnant women. Remarkably, NUMEM provides this care at no cost to women.
· Asteroidea covers the costs of Maama Kits for every pregnant woman. Such a kit is often required of the patient to bring to the delivery facility and includes 2 pairs of medical gloves, 2 new razor blades (to cut the umbilical cord), 1 bar of soap, 2 gauze pads for cleaning the eyes of the newborn, 8 sanitary towels, 9 oz. of cotton wool, 1 polyethylene sheet on which the mother gives birth, and 1 suction bulb to clean the baby’s airway.
Health Education
There currently exists in all of Pader District, two physicians for a population of around a quarter of a million people, one of which is primarily charged with administrative versus clinical duties. To meet this shortage of physicians, Asteroidea has initiated the Global Healthcare Education Scholarship Fund.
· Three individuals from Northern Uganda are receiving scholarships from Asteroidea that cover all of their tuition and living expenses to attend medical school. Read more on our scholars here.
· In return for covering these expenses, each of these individuals has agreed that upon receiving their degrees to work for at least the same number of years in Northern Uganda as they received funding (5 years for each scholar).
· In the future, it is our hope at Asteroidea that we will be able to expand this program to cover more scholars across other desperately needed health care professions (for example, midwives, nurses, physicians assistants, laboratory technicians, and nurse assistants).
· Meet our scholars here!
What’s to come…
Towards a hospital in Pader
“Our goal is to grow and build a hospital, since Pader district doesn’t have a hospital, whether from the government or another NGO.”
NUMEM Clinic co-founders, Olanya Denish and Atiya Patrick Kasagara showing Asteroidea the land purchased for the future hospital, the first of its kind in Pader District.